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(2) As anxiety about the things of this life hinders us Godwards (Mat_6:19-34), so does censoriousness manwards (Mat_7:1-12), our Lord thus tacitly opposing two typically Jewish faults. Censoriousness—the personal danger of having it (Mat_7:1, Mat_7:2), its seriousness as a sign of ignorance and as a hindrance to spiritual vision (Mat_7:3-5), even though there must be a recognition of great moral differences (Mat_7:6). Grace to overcome it and to exercise judgment rightly can be obtained by prayer (Mat_7:7-11), the secret of overcoming being found in treating others as one would like to be treated one's self (Mat_7:12).
Mat_7:1
Parallel passage: Luk_6:37. Judge not. Not merely "do not condemn," for this would leave too much latitude; nor, on the other hand, "do not ever judge," for this is sometimes our duty; but "do not be always judging" ( μὴ κρίνετε ). Our Lord opposes the censorious spirit. "Let us therefore be lowly minded, brethren, laying aside all arrogance, and conceit, and folly, and anger, and let us do that which is written … most of all remembering the words of the Lord Jesus which he spake, teaching forbearance and brag-suffering; for thus he spake … 'As ye judge, so shall ye be judged,'" Clem. Romans, § 13; cf. 'Ab.,' 1.7 (Taylor), "Judge every man in the scale of merit;" i.e. let the scale incline towards the side of merit or acquittal. That ye be not judged; i.e. by God, with special reference to the last day (cf. Jas_2:12, Jas_2:13; Jas_5:9; Rom_2:3). Hardly of judgment by men, as Barrow (serm. 20.): "Men take it for allowable to retaliate in this way to the height, and stoutly to load the censorious man with censure."
Mat_7:2
Parallels to the second clause in Luk_6:38 and Mar_4:24, For. Explanatory of" that ye be not judged." The principle of your own judgment will be applied in turn to yourselves. With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. The judgment ( κρίμα ) is the verdict; the measure is the severity or otherwise of the verdict. In both clauses the passives refer to judgment by God, as is even more clear in Mar_4:24. The saying, "with what measure," etc., is found in Mishua, 'Sotah,' Mar_1:7 ("With the measure with which a man measures do they measure to him"), where it is applied to the jus talionis in the case of a woman suspected of adultery (Num_5:11-31). Again. Omitted by the Revised Version, with the manuscripts. It was naturally inserted by the copyists, either as an unconscious deduction or from the parallel passage in Luke; but it is absent in the characteristically Jewish form of the saying found in the Mishna.
Mat_7:3-5
The heinousness of censoriousness as a hindrance to one's self and to one's work for others.
Mat_7:3
Parallel passage: Luk_6:41. And why—when it is so contrary to common sense—beholdest thou the mote, etc.? A Jewish proverbial saying, e.g. Talm. Bab., 'Bab. Bathra,' 15b, Rabbi Jochanan (third century A.D.),expounding Rth_1:1, says, "A generation which when under judgment ( èôùðù ) judgeth its judges. When one saith to a man, Cast out the mote out of thine eyes, he saith (in answer), Cast out the beam out of thine eyes." In Talm. Bab., 'Erach.,' 16b, "Out of thy teeth" seems to be the right reading. In these verses the "eye" is usually taken as belonging solely to the illustration, and as not itself representing any one object. It may be so, but it has been used so recently (Mat_6:22) of the spiritual sense that it is more natural to take it so here. In this case the thought of the passage is of faults existing in a man's spiritual sense hindering his spiritual vision. The censorious man sees any fault, however small, readily enough in others, but does not see the much greater fault which he himself as a matter of fact has—his own censoriousness. This censoriousness is not a slight, but a great hindrance to his own spiritual vision, much more to his being of use in removing hindrances from the eye of another. The mote; τὸ κάρδος ; Latt. festucam; any small vegetable body. The English word is from the Anglo-Saxon mot, "a small particle" (cf. further Luk_6:41, note). Observe that our Lord allows that there is something wrong with the brother's spiritual vision, just as he allows that the unmerciful servant had a real debt owing to him. That is in thy brother's eye (Mat_5:22, note). Our Lord is here speaking of the relation of believers to fellow-believers. He tacitly contrasts the censoriousness of the Pharisees towards fellow-Jews (Joh_7:49). But considerest not ( οὐ κατανοεῖς ). With any attention of mind; contrast Rom_4:19 (Abraham gave earnest consideration to his own age, and yet believed). The beam. So huge a piece of wood is there in thine own eye. That is in thine own eye. The order of the Greek lays still more emphasis on the fact that, though in thy very own eye there is a beam, thou payest no regard to that (cf. Rom_4:5, note).
Mat_7:4
Parallel passage: Luk_6:42. Or. A second case is supposed. You may only see the mote or you may offer to remove it. How; with any conscience. Wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out? Let me ( ἄφες , Luk_3:15). There is nothing here of the rudeness that so often accompanies censeriousness. Pull out; Revised Version, cast out ( ἐκβάλω ). The thought is of the completeness, not the method, of the removal (of. Mat_9:38). A beam; the beam (Revised Version); i.e. the beam already mentioned.
Mat_7:5
Parallel passage: Luk_6:42. Thou hypocrite (Mat_6:2, note). The thought here is of the personation of a part (a man free from impediment in his vision)which does not belong to you. First cast out the beam out of thine own eye, In Luk_6:3 the order of the words lays the emphasis on "thine;" here, on the eye. It is in thine eye, of all places, that the beam now is. And then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. Surely a promise as well as a statement. See clearly ( διαβλέψεις , δια - discriminatingly); as in the right text of Mar_8:25, itself after the recovery of full power of sight. See clearly. Not the mote (Mar_8:3), but to cast out the mote. The verse seems to imply that if the spirit of censoriousness be absent, it will be possible for us to remove "motes" from the eyes of our brothers. Thus the passage as a whole does not say that we never ought to try to remove such "motes," but that this is monstrous and almost impossible so long as we ourselves have a fault of so much magnitude as censoriousness.
Mat_7:6
Matthew only. Give not that which is holy, etc. While you are not to be censorious towards brethren (verses 1-5), you must recognize the great and fundamental differences that there are between men. You must not treat those who are mere dogs and swine as if they were able to appreciate either the holiness or the beauty and wealth of spiritual truth. Give Observe that "give," "cast," are naturally used of feeding dogs and swine respectively. That which is holy ( τὸ ἅγιον ). The metaphor is taken from the law that the things offered in sacrifice were no longer to be treated as common food (Le Mat_22:1-16, especially Mat_22:14, τὸ ἅγιον ). Unto the dogs. The scavengers of Eastern cities, which by nature and habit love and greedily devour the most unholy of things (cf. Exo_22:31). Neither cast ye your pearls, Pearls. Only here and Mat_13:45, Mat_13:46 in the Gospels. In form not so very unlike swine's food of beans or nuts, they here represent the beauty and precious wealth of the various parts of the Gospel, in which Christ's disciples are accustomed to delight ( ὑμῶν ). Ignatius ('Ephesians,' § 11) calls his bonds his "spiritual pearls." Before swine; before the swine (Revised Version). Probably in both cases the article is used with the object of bringing the particular dogs and swine to whom these are given more vividly before us. Swine. Which have no care for such things, but rather wallow in filth (2Pe_2:22). Dogs... swine. The terms seem to so far indicate different classes of men, or more truly different characters in men, as that the one term points to the greedy participation of the wicked in open profanation, the ether to the sottish indifference of sinners to that which is most attractive. Lest they; i.e. the swine. Dogs, even though wild in the East, would not "tread down" the food. Trample them under their feet (Mat_5:13). In ignorance of their real worth and in disappointment that they do not afford them satisfaction (For the future, καταπατήσουσιν , cf. Mat_5:25, note.) It here expresses the greater certainty of the trampling than of the rending (aorist subjective). And turn again—Revised Version omits "again"—and rend you. In rage at the disappointment experienced. The clause expresses the personal enmity which those who wilfully reject the gospel often feel towards those that have offered it to them. It might be thought difficult to carry out this command, as it is evident that we cannot know beforehand who will accept the gospel or not. But in cases where the character of the person is not known (e.g. as when St. Paul preached at Athens, etc.), the command does not apply. Our Lord supposes the case where the character is apparent (cf. 1Ti_5:24). Theodoret, in quoting this verse, adds, "My mysteries are tot me and mine," which, clearly an adaptation of Symmachus and Theodotion's rendering of Isa_24:16, éì éæø (cf. also Targ. Jon.), seems to have become almost an authorized, and certainly a true, interpretation of our verse.
Mat_7:7-11
Ask, and it shall be given you, etc. Parallel passage: Luk_11:9-13. Nearly verbally identical, but in the son's request, reads "egg" and "scorpion" for "bread" and "stone," and reverses the order of the sentences.
In Luke the verses are closely connected ("and I say unto you") with the parable of the friend at midnight, which itself immediately follows the Lord's Prayer. It seems probable that, as with the Lord's Prayer (Luk_6:9-13, note), so with these verses, the original position is given in Luke; yet, as also with the Lord's Prayer, Matthew's form of the individual clauses may be the more original (cf. verse 11, note). With the general promise contained in these verses, cf. Mar_11:24.
The connexion with the preceding verse is probably not
(1) pray for others who have no apparent capacity for receiving the truths of the gospel (Weiss); nor
(2) in answer to the question suggested by Mar_11:6, if this be the measure of the Divine dealings, what bounties can sinners expect at God's hands? Let them, nevertheless, ask of God, and it shall be given them (cf. Alford); but
(3) in close connexion with the whole subject from Mar_11:1-6, you feel conscious of want of wisdom for the true and loving judgment of others without censoriousness—ask for this special grace. With this connexion Mar_11:12 follows on naturally; i.e. the key to the right treatment of others may be found in one's own feelings and wishes; from the perception of what we desire to receive from others we may learn what others ought to receive from us.
Mat_7:7
Ask … seek … knock. Gradation in urgency. Further, the three clauses think of the Giver, the sphere in which the gift lies, the obstacles in the way of obtaining it.
Mat_7:8
For every one that asketh receiveth. Every one that asketh of God receiveth, for he is not the censorious Judge that you are inclined to be in your dealings with others. Therefore ask expectantly. He "giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth not" (Jas_1:5).
Mat_7:9, Mat_7:10
Or what man is there of you, etc.? Or. Is not what I say true? or—if you think not—what man of you yourselves would act otherwise towards his own son? Our Lord appeals to the experience and natural feelings of his hearers themselves to emphasize the readiness of the Father—"your Father," whose nature you share, and from whom you derive your feelings of fatherhood (Eph_3:15)—to grant the prayers of his children. Observe:
(1) Our Lord assumes that our natural feelings are of the same kind as God's.
(2) Our Lord speaks of God's children asking him for gifts (cf. Mat_5:16, note).
(3) Our Lord does not suggest, "Will he absolutely refuse him?" but "Will he give him something which is an answer in appearance only (a stone for bread, a serpent for a fish)?" i.e. our Lord implies that God's gifts, like an earthly father's to his son, are such as really and completely to satisfy the need which is expressing itself. A blessed encouragement, for he will thus answer the underlying desire, though not necessarily the verbal expression of the prayer. So when Monica prayed that her son might not sail to Rome, God did not grant this, but gave her "the hinge of her desire," for it was Augustine's journey to Italy that was the means of his conversion. Bread … fish. The most usual food on the Lake of Galilee (cf. Mat_14:17; Joh_6:9; cf. Mat_4:3, note).
Mat_7:11
Parallel passage: Luk_11:13. If ye then being evil. Application of the thought of Luk_11:9, Luk_11:10, with further emphasis on the evil of human nature. If you with your moral worthlessness (Mat_6:13, note), etc. (cf. also Mat_12:34). Being ( οντες ). The presence here in the parallel passage of Luke of his common word ὑπάρχοντες points to St. Matthew's form of the sentence being the more original. Know; intuitively ( οἴδατε ). Notwithstanding, then, the evil bent of fallen human nature, there is some good still remaining. How much more shall your Father which is in heaven. "In quo nulla est malitia" (Bengel). Give good things. Observe:
(1) In the parallel passage in Luke, "the Holy Spirit," or, more strictly, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit ( Πνεῦμα Αγιον ). The historian of the early Church not unnaturally singles out that gift which ultimately produces all others; but St. Matthew, keeping to the general subject of wisdom, etc., in the treatment of our brethren, uses a more distributive expression which yet includes the particular gift asked for.
(2) Is the omission of the word "gifts" in this clause to be accounted for by our Lord not wishing to suggest that the grace asked for is so given as that it can afterwards be possessed apart from the Giver?
Mat_7:12
Mat_7:12, parallel passage: Luk_6:31; 12b, Matthew only. All things therefore. Therefore. Summing up the lesson of verses 1-11 (cf. verse 7, note). In consequence of all that I have said about censoriousness and the means of overcoming it, let the very opposite feeling rule your conduct towards others. Let all (emphatic) your dealings with men be conducted in the same spirit in which you would desire them to deal with you. Even so. Not "these things" do ye to them; for our Lord carefully avoids any expression that might lead to a legal enumeration of different details, but "thus" ( οὕτως ), referring to the character of your own wishes. (For this "golden rule," cf. Tobit 4:15 (negative form); cf. also patristic references in Resch, 'Agrapha,' pp. 95, 135.) On the occasional similarity of pre-Christian writings to the teaching of our Lord, Augustine (vide Trench, 'Serm.,' in loc.) well says it is "the glory of the written and spoken law, that it is the transcript of that which was from the first, and not merely as old as this man or that, but as the Creation itself, a reproduction of that obscured and forgotten law written at the beginning by the finger of God on the hearts of all men. When, therefore, heathen sages or poets proclaimed any part of this, they had not thereby anticipated Christ; they had only deciphered some fragment of that law, which he gave from the first, and which, when men, exiles and fugitives from themselves and from the knowledge of their own hearts, had lost the power of reading, tie came in the flesh to read to them anew, and to bring out the well-nigh obliterated characters afresh." (Compare also Bishop Lightfoot's essay on "St. Paul and Seneca," in his 'Philippians.') For this is the law and the prophets. For this. This principle of action and mode of life is, in fact, the sum of all Bible teaching (cf. Le 19:18). Observe:
(1) Our Lord brings out the same thought, but with its necessary limitation to the second table, in Mat_22:40 (cf. Rom_13:10).
(2) Our Lord thus returns to the main subject of his sermon, the relation in which he and his must stand to the Law (Mat_5:17).
Mat_7:13-27
(4) Epilogue (cf. Mat_5:3, note). Dare to take up this position, which has been laid down in Mt 5:21-7:12, involving though it must separation from the majority of men (Mat_7:13, Mat_7:14); and this notwithstanding the claim of others to reveal the Lord's mind, whose true nature, however, you shall perceive from their actions (Mat_7:15-20); they that work iniquity have neither present nor future union with me (Mat_7:21-23). Finally a solemn warning (Mat_7:24-27).
Mat_7:13
For Mat_7:13, Mat_7:14, cf. Luk_13:23, Luk_13:24, which, however (notwithstanding the similarity of Luk_13:25-27 to our Luk_13:21-23), were probably spoken later, and were perhaps suggested to both the disciples and the Master by this earlier saying. On the other hand, our Luk_13:14 seems so direct an answer to Luk_13:23 that it is not unlikely that this is one of the many passages placed by St. Matthew, or the authors of his sources, out of chronological order. Enter ye in. Show immediate energy and determination. Observe:
(1) In Luke, "strive ( ἀγωνίζεσθε ) to enter in"; here, "enter at once."
(2) In Luke, "through the narrow door" into, apparently, the final abiding-place; here, "through the narrow gate" into apparently the (perhaps long) road which takes us at last to full salvation. Thus in Luke our Lord speaks of continued striving; here, of immediate decision, in which, however, lies the assurance of ultimate success (cf. verse 14, end; also 1Jn_2:13). At the strait gate; Revised Version, by the narrow gate—the entrance resembling the road (verse 14, note). Chrysostom (in lot.), contrasting present trials with future happiness, says, "straitened is the way and narrow is the gate, but not the city." For wide is the gate, and Broad is the way. So also the Revised Version, but the Revised Version margin has, "some ancient authorities omit is the gate." (For a full discussion on the difficult question of the genuineness of ἡπύλη here, vide Westcott and Hort, 'App.') Westcott and Hort omit it, with à , Old Latin, and many Greek and Latin Fathers, and say that, though ἡπύλη is probably genuine in verse 14, "till the latter part of the fourth century the first ἡπύλῃ has no Greek or Latin patristic evidence in its favour, much against it." They think this is "one of those rare readings in which the true text has been preserved by à without extant uncial support … It was natural to scribes to set verse 13 in precisely antithetic contrast to verse 14; but the sense gains in force if there is no mention of two gates, and if the contrast in verse 13 is between the narrow gate and the broad and spacious way." There must be a definite entering upon the right way; no entrance upon the wrong way is necessary, men find themselves upon it only too easily, and it is "made level with stones" (Ecclesiasticus 21:10). Wide … broad. The second epithet ( εὐρύχωρος ) lays stress on there being plenty of space to walk in (Latt., spatiosa). That leadeth to destruction ( εἰς τηλειαν ); that "perishing" in which "the sons of perishing" perish (Joh_17:12). And many there be which; Revised Version, more exactly, and many be they that ( καὶ πολλοί εἰσιν οἱεἰσερχόμενοι ). Our Lord says that they that are perishing are many (cf. verse 14, note). Go in; Revised Version, enter in; keeping up the allusion to "enter ye in." Observe, however, that if ἡπύλη (vide supra) is false, the thought here is of entrance into the final issue of the way— ἡἀπώλεια . Thereat; Revised Version, thereby; i.e. by the way.
Mat_7:14
Because ( ὅτι ); for (Revised Version); "many ancient authorities read, How narrow is the gate, etc.". The reading, "how" ( τί ) is much easier, as avoiding the difficulty of the connexion of this verse with the preceding, but probably ὅτι is right. The connexion is either that it is parallel to the first ὅτι , and thus gives a second reason for decision in entering through the narrow gate; or, and better, that it gives the reason for the statement in Mat_7:13—many pass along the wrong way because the right way requires at the very outset so much determination and afterwards so much self denial. Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way; narrow is the gate, and straitened the way (Revised Version). Not only is the gate narrow, but the way itself seems compressed ( τεθλιμμένη ) by rocks, etc., on either side. That leadeth unto life ( εἰς τὴν ζωήν ). Observe, Christ does not say, "life eternal." He only cares to emphasize the thought of life in the fullest nature of life—life as "the fulfilment of the highest idea of being: perfect truth in perfect action" (Bishop Westcott, on 1Jn_3:14). And few there be that; Revised Version, and few be they that (Mat_7:13, note). Our Lord here affirms more than the disciples ask in Luk_13:23; for there the question deals with those in a state of salvation ( οἱσωζόμενοι ), here those finally saved. Find it; i.e. the gate and all it leads to. The narrow gate is here looked at as involving life. Find. It needs a search (contrast Luk_13:13). But there is the promise of Luk_13:7, "Seek, and ye shall find."
Mat_7:15-23
Matthew only in this form, though most of the separate verses have much matter common to other passages; viz.: verses 16, 18, parallel with Luk_6:43, Luk_6:44, cf. also infra, Mat_12:33; Mat_12:19, cf. Mat_3:10; verse 21, cf. Luk_6:46; Luk_6:22, cf. Luk_13:26; Luk_13:23, parallel with Luk_13:27. (For the connexion of these verses, cf. Luk_13:13, note.)
Mat_7:15
Matthew only. Beware. The warning against being led from the right entrance and the right way is all the more emphatic for there being no adversative particle in the true text. Beware of false prophets. The whole class of them ( τῶν ). Not, observe, "false teachers" (2Pe_2:1), as though these persons only falsely interpreted fundamental truths, but "false prophets,'' as falsely claiming to bring messages from God. They claim to bring from God the true message of salvation, but their claim is false. These were doubtless found, at the time that our Lord spoke the words, especially among the Pharisees; but when St. Matthew recorded them, chiefly among Christians, either on the Jewish or on the Gnostic side (Col_2:8; 1Ti_6:20, 1Ti_6:21; cf. also 1Jn_4:1 and 'Did.,' § 12.). Which; qualitative ( οἵτινες ); seeing that they. Come unto you in sheep's clothing. In, as it were, the skins of sheep ( ἐν ἐνδύμασι προβάτων ), professing simplicity and gentleness, and (for, perhaps, this thought is also included) claiming to be members of God's true flock. Externally they are all this, but at heart they are something very different. But inwardly they are ravening wolves. The thought of "ravening" ( ἅρπαγες ) is of both violence and greed. These false prophets are not merely wicked at heart and opposed to the truth, but they wish to injure you, and that for their own gain (cf Gal_6:13). "Of the ravenousness of wolves among the Jewes, take these two examples besides others. The elders proclaimed a fast in their cities upon this occasion, because the wolves had devoured two little children beyond Jordan. More than three hundred sheep of the sons of Judah ben Shamoe were torn by wolves" (Lightfoot, 'Hor. Hebr.;' cf. Eze_34:4, on false shepherds).
Mat_7:16
Parallel passage: Luk_6:44. (For the first clause, cf also Luk_6:20 and Mat_12:33.) Ye shall know them by their fruits. Their appearance and their claims are no proof of their true character. It may seem difficult to recognize this, yet there is a sure way of doing so, by their life. The emphasis of the sentence is on "by their fruits." Ye shall know. Ye shall come to know them to the full ( ἐπιγνώσεσθε ). (On the greater strength of the compound, vide Ellicott, 1Co_13:12.) Fruits. All considered separately (cf. Luk_6:17, Luk_6:18, Luk_6:20), but in Luk_6:19 as one whole (cf. Mat_3:8, note). It is, however, just possible that here and in Luk_6:20 the plural points to fruit growing on different trees. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? The visible outgrowth reveals the nature of that which is within. Those who "profess to combine fellowship with God with the choice of darkness as their sphere of life "(Bishop Westcott, on the suggestive parallel 1Jn_1:6) only show that within they are destitute of fellowship with God. Observe, Christ does not say, "Do thorns produce grapes," etc.? (cf. Jas_3:12), but "Do men gather?" i.e. he desires to bring out the way in which men ordinarily deal with productions external to themselves. You, my followers, ought to use that common sense in spiritual matters which men show in matters of everyday life. Thistles; apparently Centaurea calcitrapa, the common thistle of Palestine; in the plains the only fuel.
Mat_7:17
Matthew only. Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. The similarity between the fruit and the nature of the tree extends not only to the species, but also to the specimen. Good tree ( δένδρον ἀγαθόν ); intrinsically sound. Good fruit ( καρποὺς καλούς ); attractive in the eyes of men. As is the inner character of the tree, so is the obvious nature of the fruit. But a corrupt tree ( τὸ δὲ σαπρὸν δένδρον ); "the" picturing it. Corrupt; unsound, rotten, worthless (cf. Mat_13:48); also in the moral world (Eph_4:29).
Mat_7:18
Parallel passage: Luk_6:43 (cf. also infra, Mat_12:33). A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. This correspondence of external product to internal character is necessary. It cannot (emphatic) be otherwise. It' the heart is good, good results follow; therefore, he implies, if good results are not seen in these "false prophets," it is because of their real character. A bad life cannot but spring from a worthless heart. Of course, our Lord deals only with the general rule. There are apparent anomalies in the world of spirit as of nature. Bring forth … bring forth; ἐνεγκεῖν (Westcott and Herr)… ποιεῖν . A good tree cannot have bad fruit hanging on it; a rotten or worthless tree cannot, with all its efforts, produce good fruit.
Mat_7:19
Matthew only (cf. Mat_3:10, vide infra). Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. A parenthesis expressing the terrible fate of those the general product (verse 16, note) of whose life is not good. Christ will warn his followers plainly against listening to them. Observe that the form of the sentence ( πᾶν δένδρον μὴ ποιοῦν καρπόν , κ .τ.λ.) implies that all trees will be cut down unless there is a reason for the contrary; that the normal event (the natural result of universal sin, apart, of course, from Christ's atonement) is that men are condemned and perish. In Mat_3:10 this general statement is applied ( οὖν ) to a definite time of impending judgment.
Mat_7:20
(Mat_7:16, note.) Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Wherefore ( ἄραγε ). Mat_7:16 is restated, but now in "rigorous logical inference" (Winer, § 53:8. a) from Mat_7:16-18. Since it is a certainty that fruit is the result of inner nature, you shall from these men's fruits fully learn their true character.
Mat_7:21-23
These verses stand in close connexion with Mat_7:15-20. Seeing that external actions are the result of internal life, it is they, not words nor even miracles, by which the true followers of Christ will be finally distinguished from others, and which therefore will alone secure admission to abiding with Christ in the kingdom of heaven. To these verses Luk_13:23-28 have many resemblances (cf. also Luk_13:13, Luk_13:14, supra). St. Luke thus omits the warning against false teachers. (For verse 21, cf. also Luk_6:46.)
Mat_7:21
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord. Professing obedience (Mat_6:24). Observe the indirect claim to this title of reverential submission and the implied expectation that it will be given him by many. Shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. The final goal of our hopes. But he that doeth the will of my Father. Not "of me," but of him whom I represent, and to whom I stand in a unique relation (observe the claim). This man also says, "Lord, Lord" (Winer, § Mat_26:1), but not merely says it. Such a man enters into family relationship to Christ (Mat_12:50). Which is in heaven. Since you desire to enter the kingdom of heaven, be now obeying the will of him who dwells in heaven. (For the thought of the verse, cf 1Jn_2:4.)
Mat_7:22
Matthew only; but cf Luk_13:26, from which the "Western" addition of eating and drinking is probably derived. Many will say to me in that day. The great day. Notice Christ's claim, so early as this, to be the future Judge of the world. Lord, Lord (cf. Hos_8:2). In Luk_13:21 profession of service, i.e. as regards work; here, as regards wages. Have we not prophesied. Revised Version did, etc.? The thought is not of abiding effect, but merely of historical facts ( οὐ τῷ σῷ ὀνόματι ἐπροφητεύσαμεν ). In thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? Revised Version, by thy name. An important difference, for "in" implies some vital connexion. But in this case the revelation (Mat_6:9, note) of Christ was merely the instrument by which these men proclaimed Divine truths, cast out; demons, and wrought miracles. With him, or even with it, they had no real union. The connexion of "prophesied" with the two other words seems to forbid this being only false prophesying (Luk_13:15; cf. especially Jer_27:15 [Jer_34:12, LXX.]; Jer_14:14). Rather does the verse teach that spiritual results can be effected by unspiritual men. "Suggested by this and like passages. Augustine has many instructive words and warnings on the nothingness of all gifts, even up to the greatest gift of working nil miracles, if charity be wanting" (Trench, ' Sermon on the Mount').
Mat_7:23
(Cf. Luk_13:27.) And then will I profess unto them. Openly in the face of all men (cf. Mat_10:32). I never knew you. Even when you did all these miracles. etc., I had not that personal knowledge of you which is only the result of heart-sympathy. There was never anything in common between you and me. Although this is, perhaps, the only example of this sense of ἔγνων in the synoptic Gospels, it is common in John. Depart from me. The absence of recognition by Christ, though not represented as the cause, yet will involve departure from his presence (cf. 2Th_1:9). This clause reproduces verbally the LXX. of Psa_6:8, except in St. Matthew's word used for "depart" ( ἀποχωρεῖτε ), which gives more idea of distance in the removal than the word used in the psalm and in Luke ( ἀπόστητε ). Ye that work. In full purpose and energy ( οἱἐργαζόμενοι , cf. Col_3:23), and that till this very moment. Iniquity. The assurance of the psalmist becomes the verdict of the Judge. Observe that at this, the end of his discourse, our Lord speaks not of sin generally ( τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ), but of lawlessness ( τὴν ἀνομίαν ). He has throughout been insisting upon obedience to the Law in its final meaning as essentially necessary for his followers (most recently verse 12). So that instead of saying, "ye that work sin," he uses the correlative (1Jn_3:4), for sin is neglect of or opposition to the perfect Law of God in the three spheres that this regards—self, the world, God (of. Bishop Westcott, on 1Jn_3:4). It is, perhaps, more than a coincidence that in 2Ti_2:19 we have again the collocation of the Lord knowing and of man's departing, i.e. either from him or from sin (of. especially the parallel Luk_13:27); vide Resch, 'Agrapha,' p. 207.
Mat_7:24-27
Parallel passage: Luk_6:47-49 (cf. also Eze_13:10-16). A solemn close to the sermon. By the similitude of two builders our Lord warns his followers that to have heard his words will have been useless unless they put them into practice.
Observe that although the word "hear' in these verses cannot indicate that full "hearing" which it sometimes connotes (Mat_10:14), yet it seems to mean more than merely listening, and to imply both a grasp of what is intended by the statements made and at least some acquiescence in their truth (Act_2:22; Rev_1:3; Joh_5:24).
According to the above explanation, it will be seen that in the imagery the rock represents practice; the sand, mere sentiment. There is thus a partial correspondence with the works insisted on by St. James in contrast to a bare orthodox faith (Jas_2:24). Assent is insufficient; there must be action.
Not uncommonly, indeed, the rock is considered to refer to the Lord himself, and the sand to human effort. Cf. Ford: "The parallel passage (Luk_6:48), where the words, 'cometh unto Me,' are inserted, indicates clearly the foundation of faith, the receiving the Lord Jesus as our Prophet, Priest, and King, which is the only basis on which good works can be built" (cf. even Allord). This, however, is hardly exegesis, but application, for the "coming to Christ" is in Luke only introductory to the hearing and doing, and is altogether omitted here. Although the statement is true in itself, it is only so far proper to this passage in that, apart from practice, there is (verse 23) no heart-union with Christ.
Mat_7:24
Therefore whosoever hoareth; Revised Version, every one therefore which heareth ( πᾶς οὖν ὅστις , Mat_10:32). The relative used lays stress on the quality implied in the verb: every one who is of the kind that hears (contrast Mat_7:26). These sayings (Revised Version, words) of mine, and doeth them. Not the individual utterances ( ῥήματα , Joh_6:63), nor the substance of my message considered as a whole ( λόγον , Mat_13:1-58 :[19] 20), but the substance of its parts, the various truths that I announce ( λόγους ). I will liken him; Revised Version, shall be likened, with the manuscripts. Not shall, in fact, be made like, Mat_6:8 (Weiss), but shall be likened in figure and parable. Unto a wise man. Prudent, sensible ( φρόνιμος ). Which built his house upon a rock; Revised Version, the rock. Which in not a few cases may be found at no great distance from the surface.
Mat_7:25
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a (Revised Version, the) rock. The stages of the tempest are expressed more vividly than in St. Luke.
Mat_7:26, Mat_7:27
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell; and great was the fall of it. In the Plain of Sharon the clay seems to have been so interior that not only were the jars made of it often worthless, but the bricks could offer so little resistance to the weather that the houses were hardly safe. Hence a special prayer was offered by the high priest on the Day of Atonement that the Lord would grant that their houses might not become their tombs. In the parable, however, it is not the structure, but the foundation, that is wrong. The sand may refer, as Stanley suggests, to one locality, in which case it is probably "the long sandy strip of land which bounds the eastern plain of Acre, and through which the Kishon flows into the sea;" or, as would seem more probable, to the sand which would naturally be found on the edges of such a torrent as is here described. Beat upon; smote upon (Revised Version). In Mat_7:25 the thought is more of the swoop of the tempest ( προσέπεσαν ); here, of its impact on the house ( προσέκοψαν ). It is possible that there is here less indication of force necessary for the destruction. "It needed only the first blow, and the house fell" (Weiss, 'Matthaus-ev.'). And great was the fall of it. Our Lord's solemn verdict of the utter ruin awaiting him who does not put his assent into action. The clause conveys an impression even stronger than Mat_7:23. There the positive worker of lawlessness is banished from Christ's presence; here, on the mere non-worker of Divine messages received is pronounced ruin and (for such, at least, seems suggested) that irremediable.
Mat_7:28, Mat_7:29
The impression produced on the multitudes. With the exception of the formula, "It came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings" (cf. Mat_11:1, note), the words are almost identical with Mar_1:22 (Luk_4:31, Luk_4:32), but the time is, as it seems, later. The oral statement of an impression which was probably often produced is affirmed of slightly different times.
Mat_7:28
Sayings; Revised Version, words (Mat_7:24, note). The people; Revised Version, the multitudes ( οἱὄχλοι ). In contrust to the scribes and ruling classes. Were astonished (cf. Act_13:12). At his doctrine; at his teaching (Revised Version).
Mat_7:29
For he taught them. Such was his constant habit ( ἦν ... διδάσκων ). As one having authority, and not as the scribes. Who, indeed, never claimed personal authority. Jewish teachers lean on the fact of their having received that which they expound. They professed]y sink their own personality in that of those of old time, to whom the teaching was first given (Mat_5:21). To this our Lord's personal claims stand in sharp contrast. The scribes; Revised Version, their scribes, with the manuscripts; i.e. the scribes to which they were accustomed to listen. Whether the reference is primarily to scribes of the nation generally or only to those of the neighbouring district, is hardly material, for these were representatives of the one class. A few authorities add, "and the Pharisees," which may either be derived from Luk_5:30 or be an independent gloss due to the fact that the Pharisees were looked upon as the typical Jewish teachers.
1. Gentleness in our estimate of the lives of others. The hypocrites trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others; they made an ostentatious display of their own supposed good deeds, and passed stern judgments on their neighbours. The righteousness of Christ's disciples must exceed that of the Pharisees in both respects. Indeed, Christ's words must not be understood in that literalness which was one of the characteristic errors of the Pharisees. The judge must pass sentence upon criminals; it is his duty to God, to society. The minister of God must "reprove, rebuke, exhort,": when God saith unto the wicked, "Thou wicked man, thou shalt surely die," he must warn the wicked of his sin; for otherwise (God himself hath said it) "that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thy hand." All Christians must hate sin, and show that they hate it. "Woe unto them," saith the Prophet Isaiah, "that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" Sometimes it is our duty to judge others. When it is our duty, we are safe, if we do it with pity for the sinner and with grief for the dishonour done to God (see Psa_119:136). It is a duty full of danger and temptation; there is need of prayer and self-examination and careful scrutiny of our own thoughts and motives. When it is not our duty, it is never free from the danger of sin against the law of love. Censoriousness is one of the great blots of social intercourse. People who have nothing else to talk about, talk about their neighbours; they discuss their conduct; they impute unworthy motives; they repeat slanders, they exaggerate them; they take a sinful pleasure in condemning others; they often sin against the ninth, continually against the new, commandment. And these unchristian judgments imply self-righteousness, pride, hypocrisy; they usurp the prerogative of the great Judge, who alone can search the thoughts of the heart; they bring the uncharitable into exceeding great danger, for the commandment of the Judge is, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself;" and surely those who judge their brethren harshly take part (awful as it seems) rather with Satan, the accuser of the brethren, who accuses them before our God night and day, than with the Lord Jesus Christ, the most loving Saviour, who dearly loved the souls of men, who wept over impenitent Jerusalem, and said, "Father, forgive them," as they nailed him on the cross. Therefore "judge not, that ye be not judged." Men will judge harshly those who judge others harshly, and the human judgment passed upon the censorious is but a shadow of the more dreadful judgment that is to come.
2. Strictness in judging ourselves. We extenuate our own faults; we always have excuses ready. We magnify the faults of others; we have no excuse for them. Our faults seem to us as motes, theirs as beams; our judgment is often reversed by the just judgment of God. Consider your own faults, concentrate your attention upon them—that is your duty; not, as a rule, to pass judgment upon your neighbours. "Every one of us shall give account of himself to God." Of himself; then let him take heed to his own soul, let him look into its state narrowly and jealously, let him carefully remove every mote and every defilement, let him wash it white in the blood of the Lamb. This diligent self-examination will prepare us for the difficult and delicate task of helping others. He who would take heed to the flock must take heed first unto himself (Act_20:28); it needs a clean heart, and a close fellowship with Christ, and a purified spiritual vision, to see clearly to cast out the mote out of our brother's eye. There is need of true humility and heavenly wisdom and deep spiritual experience, if we are to deal successfully with the souls of others. If we are to restore others, it must be in the spirit of meekness, by the help of the good Spirit of God, always considering ourselves, lest we also be tempted.
3. Holy caution in dealing with the worldly and the wicked. "Holy things for the holy," is a well-known direction in the ancient liturgies; it expresses the lesson which the Lord would teach us here. Judge not, but yet be careful. The deep things of spiritual experience are not for all men. The mysteries of the soul's converse with God are not to be lightly divulged in common talk. "My Beloved is mine, and I am his." The intercourse of the converted soul with the heavenly Bridegroom is a thing too sacred for ordinary conversation. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him … They that feared the Lord spake often one to another." The Christian can tell what God hath done for his soul only to the like-minded—the holy with the holy; and there are hidden things of which he speaks only to God in the silence of his heart. The deepest thoughts of that life which is hid with Christ in God, the blessed truths on which the soul leeds in loving faith, are far too sacred to be offered to the contentious, the unbelieving, the mere controversialist; far too precious to be thrown down to the gross and sensual, who despise the pearl of great price in comparison with their low and coarse enjoyments, who will turn angrily and scornfully upon him who introduces such subjects. Confessions of past sin, histories of conversions, spiritual experiences, are very sacred; but they are not for all men. They will do harm to the worldly; they wilt provoke them to scorn and derision.
II. OUR RELATIONS WITH GOD.
1. The duty and blessedness of prayer. "Ask … seek … knock." He bids us pray through whom all prayer is offered, in whose Name every knee must bow; he will hear us, we know. He has just taught us the blessed words of his own most holy prayer; he bids us use them, not as mere words uttered by the lips, but as true prayer prayed out of the depths of the heart. "Ask," he says, "and it shall be given you;… everyone that asketh receiveth." It is not asking, to repeat a few words without real desire. The heart must ask; the heart asks by its longings, yearning after God with groanings that cannot be uttered. Ask thus, and surely ye shall have. "Seek," he says, "and ye shall find." You ask for that which you need; you seek that which has been lost, that which is hidden. Original innocence has been lost; the true treasure of the soul is a hidden treasure. Seek after righteousness, seek the kingdom of God, seek Christ. Seeking implies perseverance, careful, watchful effort. The Lord came to seek and to save that which was lost. He sought on and fainted not through the thirty years of his quiet life at Nazareth, through the three years of his ministry—those years of unwearying labour, self-forgetting love. He sought on even as he hung dying in agony on the cross: "Father, forgive." He sought and he found: "To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise." He sought, and we must seek; we must seek him who is seeking us. If we seek as he sought, in patience, perseverance, in love, we shall surely find him; for he is still seeking, still calling, "Come unto me." "Knock," he says, "and it shall be opened unto you." But knock now, while it is the day of grace. There are some who will stand without, and knock at the door, saying, "Lord, Lord, open unto us;" and he shall answer,"I know you not." Knock now. Knocking implies importunity. It is not enough to be "not far from the kingdom of God;" we need to enter in, into the presence of the most holy One. He will open if we knock in faith and strong desire; for he himself, in the wondrous condescension of his infinite love, deigns to knock at the door of our poor unworthy heart. "Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof." But he desires to enter, in his gracious mercy. "If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Then we know that he will open if we continue knocking; he will not keep the door shut against those souls of men whom he loved so very dearly. He will admit us, if we persevere in faithful prayer, into his most gracious presence now, into the joy of our Lord hereafter.
2. Our Father hears the prayer of his children. Earthly fathers give their children what they need; they will not give a stone for bread, a scorpion for fish. They are sinful; the inherited corruption of sin cleaves to them all; yet they love their children and care for them. How much more does our Father which is in heaven, our Father who is Love, care for us, his children! Our Father listens to our voice, but he listens in wisdom and true holy love. We ask him sometimes for stones or scorpions, for earthly things which will only be a weight and hindrance in our heavenward journey, or perhaps may even tempt us to fall into sin, which is the sting of death. He will not give the evil things which we blindly ask; but it is in love that he refuses. "My grace is sufficient for thee." He gives the true bread—the bread which, if a man take, he shall live for ever. He gives good things to them that ask him; not always the good things of this world, which are not reckoned good in the world to come—" Son, thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things"—but things really good, things that the souls of the blessed can take with them when the world passeth away. He gives, in answer to the prayer of the heart, the best of all good things—the Holy Spirit of God.
3. We must imitate him. "Be perfect, as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." To be like unto God is not to be strong and beautiful and brave, like Homer's godlike heroes, but to imitate God in that which, his apostle tells us, enters into his very nature. "God is Love." If we would have him give good things to us, we must give good things to our neighbours according to our power. Our Lord lays down a plain, simple rule to guide us in our daily walk: "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." We must ask ourselves how we would have our neighbour act towards us if our circumstances were reversed. Thus our own heart becomes our guide; it tells us just how we ought to act. Only let us be sincere, truthful with ourselves, and we cannot he deceived. The rule is wide in its range. It is not, "Do not to others what you would not they should do to you;" others before our Lord had said that much. The Lord's rule is far wider, far more stringent. It strikes hard at that selfishness which is the parent of so many sins; it extends over all the circumstances of life; it substitutes for the minute rules of the Pharisees one comprehensive principle; it implies the energy of holy love in the heart, for only true Christian love can enable a man to apply this commandment of the Lord to the government of his own life and actions. This is the Law and the Prophets. All the commandments of the second table are briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." And it implies the commandments of the first table; for Christian love, that charity which is the greatest of all graces, flows out of the love of God. "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his command-merits." Then this is the Law and the Prophets. All the practical teaching of Holy Scripture is contained in the one law of love; and one Teacher only can write that law upon our selfish hearts, and teach us to apply it to the details of our daily lives—the Holy Spirit of God, whom our Father which is in heaven will give (his blessed Son has promised it) to them that ask him.
III. THE OBSTACLES WHICH IMPEDE OUR OBSERVANCE OF THE SAVIOUR'S RULES.
1. Their difficulty.
(1) The Lord does not hide from us the difficulty of persevering obedience. Our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. They seek the praise of men; they please themselves. There are many forms of the self-pleasing life, varying with the character, the surroundings, the early influences; they all meet in one way. That way is broad, the Lord says. There is no difficulty in finding it; "many there be which go in thereat;" you have but to go with the multitude, to live as others live, to swim with the stream. There is no need of a guide to find the broad way; we have but to follow the devices and desires of our own hearts, to live without self-denial, without the fear of God, without the restraining, solemnizing thoughts of death and judgment, and the awful world beyond the grave. The way is broad, the Lord says—spacious in its wide extent; it covers the whole world, the whole range of human life, save only one narrow path. Many ways converge into it—ways coming from many different quarters, far apart at their outset, very unlike in their circumstances, in the country through which they pass; but all meeting in the one broad way. Many travellers pass along it, differing widely from one another—old and young, rich and poor, learned and i